The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1887-10-13

command, and harnessed like leyia-
thans to his ocean palace, or like wing
ed steeds to his imperial cars, they
leave time and distance behind, and
with the swiftness of eagles sweep
over land andsea bearing their prince
less burdens in safety
The most hidden, potent and dam
gerous forces OF nature are chained to
the triumphal car of the workman's
progress He has fashioned and di-
rected the magnetic current to his
own uses Constrained the fierce
lightning of heaven to be the instant
messenger of his wishes and his will
across the mountains and seas, CONT
nents and oceans Compelled the
very angels Of light to photograph his
image and his thoughts, in the no
blest style of art. If all this that has
been accomplished by science, if every
thing that has been achieved by art,
if all the blessings of agriculture, of
commerce, OF navigation, OF music
and poetry, painting and sculpture,
if all the benefits of a most cultured
and refined civilization, if all the sub
stantial benefits of our heaven-sent
christianity with its divine faith and
sublime hope come to us only through
the toilsome suffering and sacrificing
labors of honest, industrious working
men, who shall hereafter esteem labor
as degrading. Who shall hencefor-
ward regard the workingman less
than a benefactOr of his race? Perse-
cuted with fire and sword, by kings
and princes, emperors, potentates aid
tyrants, robbed and plundered, exiled
and degraded, honest labor has, thank
heaven, found home. America is
the grand heritage Of free men and
free labor. mo pent up Utica con-
tracts our powers" The boundless
continent is ours"
The architect of the universe is our
God, and with the best blood of all
nations mingled in our veins, we are
His children, the heirs Of this glorious
inheritance.
Fellow citizens, we live in an age of
unexampled activity, which seems to
increase with each succeeding year.
The unfolding intellectual powers OF
progressive man are acting with tre-
mendous energies upon the material
world, which, in turn, is reacting with
equal energy in channels subservient
and contributive to the wellbeing and
advancement of our race. In no 9TH
er country have the resulting benefits
been so abundant and accessible to all
classes OF its people. While our coun-
try is a heaven-blessed republic of po-
litical principle, it is none the less a
republic of free personal benefit,
wherein its citizens may enjoy in
common the fruits of intellectual, NOR
al and material progress. We are now
realizing, in some degree at least, the
fulhllment OF one of the grandest
prophecies of scripture. After the
most gigantic civil war of all history
wherein the land was drenched with
fraternal blood, the once hostile and
belligerent elements are now harmo-
nized and reunited in the firm and en-
during bonds of common brotherhood
and common interest. Our swords
indeed, are beaten into plow-shares,
our spears into pruning hooks, and to-
day the men who wore the gray
and the men who wore the blue are
clasping friendly fraternal hands with
sincere and honest hearts over q
bloody chasm, now healed with acts
of kindness, and graves now watereC
with common tears. But ii we would
perpetuate and enlarge our career o
prosperity, if we would make its ben
efits cumulative and lasting, if we
would rise to that sublime height O.
civilization, wealth and power to which
God has made it possible for us to rise
as nation, we must continue anC
even increase the same untiring anC
patient perseverance that has charac
terized our efforts in tle past. As
. nation, aud as individuals, we mus
work, we must act Natures law i
! Gods decree, and action is the condi
ton of universal being, because sctiol
is the law of God In the beginning
God created the Understanding
tence acted, the Lord worked! Cha
otic elements in wild confusion float
| ed, mingling in space obedient to tn
will supreme, and swift as thought
{ each atom its kindred atom sought
, adhered till aggregated in its prope
{ plane each element assumed its plac
3 and spheres-complete in all thei
| forms and functions, differing all, ye
all in unison, precipitated by attrac
4 tive force, rolled down the hill of Heay
l en- and pealed their melodies in tn
: ear of God and OF angels Deity spoke
: The mountains emerged from thei
e aqueous beds and shook from thei
s giant brow the dewdrops of earth